When it comes to killing off its main stars Line Of Duty could even teach The Sopranos a trick or two: CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews last night's TV

Spoiler alert! If you haven’t seen the latest heart-stopping instalment of Line Of Duty (BBC1), down tools and watch it right now.

Obviously, air traffic controllers, surgeons and the like should finish what they’re doing first. But don’t hang about. This episode is simply too good to put on hold.

A collective gasp of horror was heard across the UK at one minute before 10pm, as Detective Sergeant Steve Arnott (Martin Compston) walked into an ambush and was apparently bludgeoned to death.

Spoiler alert! If you haven’t seen the latest heart-stopping instalment of Line Of Duty (BBC1), down tools and watch it right now

Arnott has been the central figure in AC-12, the show’s anti-corruption police unit, since the very beginning in 2012. But surely he cannot have survived those brutal final moments.

Line Of Duty is the only crime show on TV that could dare to pull such a shocking twist and get away with it. In fact, it’s the only British drama confident and ruthless enough to emulate those great U.S. serials such as The Sopranos, and kill off major characters.

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We’ve seen the characters played by Keeley Hawes, Daniel Mays and Jason Watkins all dispatched in sudden, bloody ways. But the knowledge that writer and director Jed Mercurio is capable of inflicting these seismic surprises is never enough to prepare us for the next.

The sheer complexity of the story so far was underlined by the need for two minutes of recaps. Instead of resolving any questions, what followed simply left our heads throbbing harder.

The sheer complexity of the story so far was underlined by the need for two minutes of recaps. Pictured: Superintendent Ted Hastings

How much DCI Roz Huntley (Thandie Newton) suspects about her own husband’s secret life is now the central mystery. The cops of AC-12 have suspected from the start that she was trying to protect someone — is it him?

They can only find out through the show’s trademark interviews, and we saw every kind of questioning from the formal to the most subtly devious.

New recruit Jamie (Royce Pierreson) used the chat-up method, flirting so hard with one witness he was in danger of getting arrested himself. He swore blind later that it was just a technique to make timid interviewees trust him, but I bet he says that to all the girls.

Huntley’s interrogation of Polish cleaner Hana (Gaite Jansen) began as a nightmarish frame-up. It seemed she was bullying the frightened young woman in order to plant fake evidence on her — until a search of her flat revealed she was a part-time prostitute, who knew the murder victim much better than she pretended.

Line Of Duty does this constantly — spinning us round, upending our expectations. Producing a worthy finale might prove impossible, but I won’t be able to tear my eyes away till I’m certain it’s over.

For unfortunate fans of Homeland (C4), the big plot shock came before the current series went to air.

For unfortunate fans of Homeland (C4), the big plot shock came before the current series went to air. Pictured: Claire Danes as Carrie Mathison

The story follows a female President-Elect as she prepares for the White House, with ultra-Right-wing conspiracy theorists trying to bring her down.

Homeland was supposed to look like a secret news report on President Hillary Clinton’s backroom battles. Instead, it feels like a sad fantasy from a bunch of wet whingers who still cannot believe the election result.

The worst winces come when the script tries to deliver topical zingers. President-to-be Keane (Elizabeth Marvel) is dismissing her opponents as ‘deplorable’: she might as well wear a Hillary name badge.

‘Whenever you are trapped in a lie,’ she scolded one TV host, ‘you raise your voice and change the subject.’ She sounded as if she wanted to say it directly to Donald Trump.

It would all be very clever . . . if Homeland wasn’t based on such a colossal mistake.